Collegians Fill US WJC Roster

Updated: 23 players with NCAA ties will compete for spots on the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team.

Matt Grzelcyk is one of three BU representatives on the U.S. preliminary roster for the World Junior Championship.

Twenty-three of the 29 players competing for spots on the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team are current, future or former college hockey players. USA Hockey announced the preliminary roster on Dec. 4 for the training camp that will take place Dec. 15-18 at the University of Minnesota.

A 23-man roster will be announced Dec. 23, with competition in the IIHF World Junior Championship set for Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, 2014, in Malmo, Sweden. The U.S. is the defending champion at the event.

"We're excited about the group of players we've invited to camp," said Jim Johansson, former Wisconsin star and the general manager of the team. "There will be some tough decisions in getting to the final roster, but that's certainly a good problem to have."

Assisting Johansson in making those selections are a group of college coaches, led by Minnesota's Don Lucia, who is the head coach for Team USA. He is assisted by St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko, Boston College associate head coach Greg Brown, Denver assistant coach David Lassonde and Yale assistant coach Dan Muse.

Thirteen schools are represented on the roster, led by Boston College with four players. Boston University and Michigan each have three representatives, while Denver, Minnesota and Notre Dame each have two. BU's group includes the only future college player to make the preliminary roster, Jack Eichel.